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11 DECEMBER 2024

Building Bridges of

Inclusion, Justice, and Spirituality

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey,

you are welcome here!

This Sunday at Shadow Rock

9:00 am

Adult Spiritual Formation and Kindlings start in the Multipurpose Room of the Education Bldg with coffee and fellowship. We thank Thomas Brown for sharing his exploration of Joseph Campbell. Pastor Ken is back with intergeneration questions.
Childcare is in the Blue Room
Spiritual Play is in the Lime Room
Sunday School for ages 9 and up in the Green Room
Hospitality Cart with coffee and cookies in the Multipurpose Room

10:15 am

Worship in the Sanctuary (childcare is offered in the Blue Room of the Education Bldg 10 - 11:30 am)

11:15 am

There will be Sermon Reboot after worship.

The Sunday is the

Third Sunday of Advent.

We continue our spiritual glide of waiting and hoping into Christmas.

Advent Theme

Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the 2024 calendar year comes to an end, a new calendar for spirituality and the church year begins. The birth of Jesus is very soon and his birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving. Advent is an invitation to receive the new ways that are coming. Despite how compelling the invitation the world in its madness continues to spin madly on. This is the way life is. Invitations to live, love, and hope confront the chaos, fear, and cruelty of the world. These are the stories of endings and beginnings. These are the stories of the Advent season.

Here is a new holiday greeting from the Gospel of Matthew; "Season's Greetings You Brood of Vipers!" Imagine this on a Christmas card.

This Sunday unpacks some of the harsh words of John the Baptist. These jarring words evoke feelings of judgment and make people of progressive faith run the other way. However, underneath the words is the intention of hope and inclusion. This is where we go this Sunday.

Our theme for the season is Words For The Beginning. Listen for the Advent word that is coming into your life and the Advent word that our world needs to hear.

Below is a list of dates and activities associated with our time together during Advent and Christmas.

Read Word About Life Message for 12-8 Here

December 15 Third Sunday in Advent

Theme: Do The Good That Is Yours To Do

Spiritual Play Kids program, Be the Light

“This Little Light of Mine,”
“We Are the Family,”
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

December 22 Fourth Sunday in Advent

Theme: Hope Is Worth The Risk

December 24 Christmas Eve, 5 pm Candlelight Service

Theme: Love Knows Your Name

YOUR DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR THE ADVENT GLIDE

COMING SOON!

The Secular Summit 2025 Event is hosted at our spiritual home of Shadow Rock. The event is on January 4, 2025, 10 am - 1 pm. Pastor Ken will be part of a panel discussion about Christian Nationalism.

More info and a link to Zoom/tickets for attendees can be found here: https://secularaz.org/single-event/summit25/.

SRPS Parent Action Team

PAT is doing a food Drive starting Monday, December 10, through Wednesday, December 18. It is for the Paradise Valley Emergency Food Pantry. They need non-perishable food donations. Feel free to bring items this Sunday and early next week.

Spaghetti Sauce

Canned chicken and tuna

Canned chili and stews

Canned fruit

Breakfast/granola bars

Cold cereal

Bars of soap

Shampoo

Toothbrushes/paste

Toilet tissue

The Hesleys are sponsoring a house concert in north central Phoenix, Friday, December 13. (See flyer above). Why not take a break from the holiday madness and spend a little time refreshing your spirits with an evening of Irish music.

Please reserve your place now. All proceeds go to the musicians, so please pay cash at the door. RSVP at peghesley@peghesley.com for reservations and address. Seating is limited.

Theater Event at Shadow Rock Dec. 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22.

Showcase Community Theatre and B3 Productions are collaborating to bring you this unique spin on the classic Charles Dickens holiday story.

Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy theatre owner, is a miserable curmudgeon - mistreating his nephew Ferdinand and employee Benedick Cratchit. There is not a generous bone in his body. But why is that? And is it possible for such a man to change his ways? The ghost of Scrooge's former partner, Christopher Marlowe, arrives with a warning: "thou shalt be haunted, man. Three spirits shall come hither, unto thee".

This play seeks to reimagine the story of Ebenezer Scrooge's brush with the supernatural through a Shakespearean lens. Written mostly in iambic pentameter, this version of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale utilizes other characters through Shakespeare's history to re-contextualize the narrative with a unique spin: what if William Shakespeare had written A Christmas Carol?

Get Tickets here!

SPIRITUAL PLAY HAPPENINGS!

Adult Ed and Kindlings Happenings

Dec. 15 and 22

Intergenerational Questions led by Pastor Ken

Dec. 29 and January 5

No classes, but on January 5th there will be a Spiritual Play Open House and Pancake Breakfast for Kindlings and grandparents.

January 12

We will begin a multiweek exploration of Family Systems concepts and dynamics. More to come or contact Pastor Ken if you have questions.

(Kindlings is our young adult group. This is open to singles, couples, and parents with children.)

Boy Scout Troop 426 Selling Christmas Wreaths! All sold out! Put it on your calendar for next year.

Save the Date:

Annual Electronic Recycling with AZStRUT

January 7-12, 2025